EO's medicinal and/or qulity

[EricofAZ]

So I realize the EO forum has come around from the old days of just part of the FO forum.  EO has its own forum and that is great!!!

 

Most of us here use EO's for candle making or soap making.  I'm kinda getting into herbology and ayurvedic cooking and nutrition.

 

The question I have is what sources do you think are pure decent EO's.  Not stuff that is cut with carrier oil and FO's and whatnot.

 

There is Young Living, expensive but they have farmland.  There is de Terra, the CEO and others from YL that broke off and outsource the EO's.

 

I have bought from Herbco.com (affordable) and some is very potent like the Oregano that raised a water blister on my hand and some not so potent like their frankincense.

 

Prices of EO's like chamomile range from $20/oz to $120/oz. 

 

I have learned that price does not = quality..

 

Thoughts? Advice?

Thanks everyone.

 

Eric

[EricofAZ]

er.. typo... quality

[Candybee]

Young Living and Do Terra have both received numerous citations on several occasions from the FDA in recent years. They were also caught cutting their oils yet claim they are pure. I would never buy my oils from them. Overpriced and questionable quality. In addition, being cited on numerous occasions for their business practices and claims makes me not want to order because I would never support a company like that even if their oils were perfection.

 

Order oils from a reputable supplier that has documentation on the EO's origin, process, handling, plant part(s), etc.  I also tend to look for suppliers that have the MSDS and NFRA statements plus a good description of the oil on their website. For me if the supplier is knowledgable and provides that kind of quality and certification I am good with that.

 

A few of the suppliers I buy from are Soapmakingresource.com, Essential Depot, Camden-Grey. Some other good ones are Eden Botanicals, New Directions. There are others but I tend to order mostly from SMR and Camden-Grey and occasionally from others like The Chemistry Store or From Nature With Love.

[Guest OldGlory]

I started my business as an aromatherapy business 15 years ago. I have no formal training, but I have read half a dozen books on the subject and scoured the endless resources of the internet for data. What I have learned may or may not be correct depending on who you ask and how I hold my mouth, so take it for what it's worth.

 

My 2 best resources for the medicinal/theraputic application of EOs are: (and I have neither at hand so I may have the titles wrong but the authors are correct)

Essential Oils by Julia Lawless - succinct, well laid out, wouldn't be without it

A Lifetime of Living with Essential Oils by Valeri Genari (?) Cooksley which may be out of print. If you can find a used copy buy it. She is an RN or nurse practitioner and she gives case studies along with recipes for the theraputic use of essential oils and in the back is a section on how to use them without hurting anyone. I wish I could meet her in person.

 

It is my understanding that, because essential oils are plant byproducts, and each plant in the same field is going to be slightly different, you really can't quantify the results unless they EOs undergo some expensive testing. It's like buying tomatoes at the market. Same vendor, same group of plants, but there are slight variations in flavor. Maybe some got more sun and developed more lycopene.

 

Prices are all over the place. I buy a lot of EOs from Camden-Grey in Florida - but I got a really awful batch of Patchouli from them, wasted about $80 if I include the shipping. And they don't have every EO I buy. I bought from New Direction, Brambleberry, Bulk Apothecary, WSP, The Chemistry Store, and some that I've forgotten about. They give you a profile of each EO on the website at Camden-Grey which is helpful, and reviews from customers.

 

Getting a consistent quality EO is the luck of the draw IMHO.

 

[TallTayl]

I have strong opinions about what is happening with the EO MLM's that I will keep bottled to myself for the moment... 

 

If if you are on Facebook, visit the Essential Oil University page to learn what Dr. Pappas has shared. Dr. P literally "wrote the book" about EO's. His work is used by distillers and resellers to measure their products. Dr. P's first passion is analysis, which is why he sold his EO company (now the perfumery where I buy from). 

 

He has tested numerous popular supplier products at his expense with not so surprising results. From there, form your opinion.

 

as noted above, every individual plant will have different chemical composition. There is no standardization, nor a reference for what the active components/compounds are in those little bottles. And just try to obtain a CoA!

 

 

[Gsmakinsoap]

I belong to a facebook group called "Real Aromatherapy Reviews & More". You can ask to 'join group',and then you'll have access to their files, one of which is a list of red flagged companies that have had one or more products that either failed purity analysis, or who are selling at prices too good to be true (in other words, the EO cannot possibly be produced for that price). The list is fairly long unfortunately.  Another FB group called "Blue Tansy Analysis" has a doc called "A compilation of 3rd party GC/MS test results" which shows which companies passed, and which didn't. You do need to 'join group' to see, but once you have, it can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/764639060290026/permalink/916963081724289/  Three companies that passed whose products I find to be competitively priced, are New Directions Aromatics, Appalachian Valley, Eden Botanicals.